Esther Charlestin

Esther Charlestin (born 1989/1990) is an American educator and businesswoman, serving as the chair of the Vermont Commission on Women. A first-generation Haitian American, Charlestin was the Democratic nominee in the 2024 Vermont gubernatorial election, wherein she became the second black woman to earn a U.S. state gubernatorial election (after Stacey Abrams).

Prior to running for Governor of Vermont, Charlestin was elected to the Middlebury Select Board in 2021. She was supported in her gubernatorial bid by Vermont political figures including Howard Dean, Becca Balint, David Zuckerman, and Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, before losing to incumbent Phil Scott in the largest Republican landslide in the state since 1946.